Commandant Gen. James Amos says that all corps equipment will be removed from the country as the gradual withdrawal progresses.

Amos said, "We've got to get it out, because that stuff has to go to the depot. Under sequestration, I need to reset it so we can use it."

So far, about 65-to-70 percent of the equipment has been shipped back to the U.S. Amos admits the Marines don't want to make the same mistake as what happened in Iraq, acknowledging, "we had equipment all over the place."

The Marines have learned their lesson and are currently boarding their artillery onto Russian An-225 Mriyas -- the largest cargo plane in the world -- as well as U.S. C-17s.

Currently, there are 7,200 Marines in Afghanistan, just over 10 percent of the entire U.S. contingent. The idea is to withdraw all but 10,000 American forces from the country by sometime in 2014.

For now, the Marines will keep two infantry units in the country: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif.; and 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.